Is It A Fooler?

We are told that the Department of the Interior once banded a lot of crows, and set them loose. They wanted to identify them with metal tags. So rather than putting the entire long name, they abbreviated it to "Wash." (for Washington) "Biol." (for Biological) and "Serv." (for Service). Somewhat later, they received a letter which said, "I caught one of your tame crows. I followed your directions. I washed it. I boiled it, and served it, and it tasted awful. Why don't you quit trying to fool people?"

When Jesus came into the world, the Scribes and Pharisees knew that this quiet, unassuming Man of Galilee was not their King, not their Messiah. He didn't look the part at all. The Messiah would be a ruler over Israel. He would wear a crown, and have a throne, and he would rule over the whole world. And so, it was not strange, that the religious leaders of Jerusalem did not accept this rabble throng, and this lowly person.

So significant was the coming of Jesus, however, that the early Christians thought of it as "an event in Eternity"...something as broad in scope as creation itself. "Everything is new!" they affirmed. One of the early versions of the New Testament began it with the title, "The Book of the Genesis"...the Gospel according to St. Matthew (the LXX...Septuagint)

Christians are not deceived into believing that the One to Whom they sing Alleluias is like any earthly king. They know that the Palm Sunday King, moved on in only a few days to hang upon a common cross, with his blood poured out as he died on a black Friday. But Christians do not concede that this was the end of their King. Indeed, Paul concludes that not only is He the "1st born of all creation," but that he is also the "first‑born from the dead." Yes, this risen Christ is now a factor in today's world. We're not foolin' anybody! He is here and with us now. Edwin Booth once gave this crisp bit of advice to a group of young actors: "The king sits in every audience; play to the king." And so He does, and so we must do. Sometimes the abbreviated directions of the Scriptures have confused us. We have read strange provisions into the great words of Scripture, and divided the Church sadly.

But the King is with us. Will we "play to the king?" Will we faithfully live as his followers?